Almased Reviews

I am starting out with my own review, and I hope others will post their experiences here too.

The other day I was perusing a magazine when I saw a full page advertisement for Almased. I had never heard of this product before and it piqued my interest, so I did what I always do – I looked it up on Amazon. I realize that some people pay for good reviews of their products on Amazon, but NO ONE is going to pay for 473 reviews!

I knew I had to try it, but I didn’t want to wait for it to be shipped so I went down to the local GNC store and foolishly paid $10.00 more than it costs on Amazon. (I know that was completely stupid, and I will never do it again!) By the way, Amazon also has free shipping on it.

Almased is a powder that you mix into liquid. Each shake you mix will have 6 to 10 tablespoons of Almased depending on how tall you are. Eighty tablespoons of the product are in each container. It can be mixed into a variety of drinks such as dairy milk, almond milk, etc. However, the insert suggests you mix it into water for quicker results. Most of the reviews I read stated that it had little to no taste and needed something mixed in to make it palatable. I personally LOVE the fact that it is NOT an overly sweet drink. I cannot tolerate extra sweet drinks, especially when I don’t get anything to eat with it. (I have been mixing pumpkin pie seasoning into mine and I think it tastes quite good.)

Almased Ingredients

It has a list of ingredients on the back that goes on for a short mile, but the main ingredients are fermented soy (protein), yogurt (probiotics), and honey (enzymes). It also lists several amino acids that help the weight loss process.

Almased Claims

This product claims to promote healthy levels of certain hormones such as leptin, cortisol, and insulin, which all supposedly contribute to weight loss. Because of this, it is supposed to ramp up your metabolism. The unique blend of this product is also supposed to help you with the yo-yo effect that often comes with dieting.

Almased also claims to make you feel better, have more energy, and strengthen your immune system.

Note: I like the fact that you can slowly step down from each stage and that this is something that I could maintain for the rest of my life if I wanted to. I could literally have 1 to 2 shakes each day for years to come without damaging my health. There is no diet pill like that on the market to my knowledge.

Almased has four phases:

The Start Phase

This should last no longer than two weeks and consists of three shakes a day, plus other liquids for snacks such as vegetable broth. The insert that comes with the Almased stresses that you should only ingest liquids at this time. This supposedly gets your body ready for the Reduction Phase. You should also drink water.

The Reduction Phase

Two meals are replaced with Almased. You are advised to stay away from all fruits as they contain high levels of fructose, which may sabotage your weight loss. This phase should last for 6 weeks or until you reach your goal weight (or close to it).

The Stability Phase

One meal each day is replaced with Almased during this phase. This is supposed to help you avoid the yo-yo effect as well as help you lose a few more pounds at a much slower rate (therefore helping you keep it off).

The Life Phase

You are recommended to have 8 tablespoons each night before bed to ensure your health and weight maintenance.

Almased Reviews – My Experience

Over the years I have done the yo-yo thing like most other people. I lost a fairly significant amount of weight a couple years ago, but it has slowly creeped back onto my backside (as well as some other places). When I was younger, especially before I had children, I never had any kind of weight problem. After the kids I had fat deposited in areas that had never been there before. That’s my background.

Day 1 – Weight 153.8

I got this product in the afternoon and drank a shake with eight tablespoons of Almased before I read the insert that indicated I should only have 6 tablespoons for my height. That was my afternoon snack. I then proceeded to eat dinner, which I know I wasn’t supposed to do. I had half of a taco salad. At bedtime I drank half shake of Almased (3 tablespoons) because I was trying to make up for the fact that I ate dinner.

Day 2 – Weight 154.0

Today I had to fast for a physical, so I had nothing to eat until after noon. I took a string cheese with me and ate it as soon as I left the doctor’s office. I live about 45 minutes from my doctor and couldn’t mix a drink to take with me (the insert states you should have it fresh). Next, I came home and had my regular shake at snack time. I then had a cup of veggie both. Later, I ate the rest of my taco salad. (Yes, I know, I was a bad girl.)

Day 3 – Weight 151.2

Today I got out of bed and started the diet plan correctly. Although I have to admit that I did put some parmesan chesse and about five turkey pepperonis in my mouth. I get really sick from not eating and that’s a huge challenge for me. It is afternoon right now…..and it’s Friday…..and my husband has already called me about where we are going to eat tonight. It’s going to be a long weekend……

Day 4 – Weight 151.2

Last night I ended up with a very sick child and we all went to the Pastaria for dinner after the somewhat late trip to the clinic. I ate reasonably well considering I am on a diet, but I DID eat regular food. Back on the shakes this morning.

I will post again tomorrow on my progress.

Day 5 – Weight 151.4

Today is Sunday. I fell off the wagon. It’s that simple. I am finding it very difficult to stay on this diet plan as it is so restrictive and my hunger pains over take me, even with the shakes and the broth. I tried mixing in some coffee with a small amount of 1% milk and some honey. Still my stomach was killing me with hunger pains and nausea.

Day 6 – Weight 152.6

I didn’t even try today. I had a lot going on and couldn’t take the time to worry with it. Not one shake was consumed since I got out of bed, but I may try drinking the shake before bed to get a start for tomorrow. (Although I will be away from home tomorrow and the next day – just like today, so I will have to decide if I want to try to take the mix with me and prepare it on the go.)

Update: April 10, 2014

I have pretty much given up on Almased. It might work great if a person could get through the initial two weeks of nothing but these shakes and broth, but I can’t. My life is too hectic and I get too sick without any real food. The guy at GNC told me he had a couple customers who swore by it. Maybe it’s just me, but this plan is obviously not for me.

I tried eating one meal a day and just doing shakes the rest of the time, but that still left me sick. Then I tried two meals a day and replacing one meal with a shake, but I couldn’t tell that was making any difference. For this reason, I am giving this product two stars.

I read this Prevention article and had to pass it on. It really makes me angry to see how big companies try to deceive us just so they can make another buck. And as we all know, girls, preservatives and other bad things in our food can lead to weight gain and/or weight retention.

We don’t want to feed this stuff to our families either. Our children need to best healthy start we can give them.

Clinique Eye Cream Review (Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream)

I love Clinique products. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I use several of their products on a regular basis. The price is decent and the products usually work well.

So how does this eye cream hold up?

Well, I like it. I have been using it every night for some time now. I originally tried it when I got a sample during Clinique bonus days at Belk. I was immediately hooked. It seems to brighten my eye area when I get up in the morning. I usually only use it at night and on days that I won’t be wearing any make up. (Wearing anything like that under my foundation tends to make my mascara and eyeliner smudge.)

I especially like the effects of this eye cream during the winter time when my skin dries out to some degree and I get that dried, “crinkly” look under my eyes. This cream softens up the look of my skin, which makes me look younger.

It is white and has a creamy texture. When I apply it on my skin, I use a liberal amount and don’t rub it in completely. Then I go about the rest of my routine and allow it to soak in. It feels like I am giving my skin a “drink”.

I give this product five stars because it gives almost immediate results.

Best Tweezers To Buy (Tweezerman Tweezers Review)

Tweezers are one of the basic tools that every girl needs, and choosing the right tweezers can save you lots of time and frustration. Like most women I went through many different ones before I found what really worked for me.

I have the red version, which makes them easy to find if I misplace them (which I do quite a lot). There are many other colors available. I love this product because it simply works. I don’t know why other companies bother to make tweezers that won’t even hold a piece of hair. It’s such a simple little tool that I don’t understand why they don’t just reshape the tips so consumers don’t have to waste their money.

How To Get Rid of Body Acne

As a girl who lives in the southeastern United Sates, I have to endure the hot, humid summers each and every year. As a result, my back and chest have broken out since I was around twelve years old. My face got better over the years, but my back and chest (and to some degree my neck and shoulders) just won’t cooperate.

I can’t seem to make them understand that I am not a teenager anymore, but a grown woman with a husband and kids!

So as soon as the month of March rolled around this year and it stopped being extremely cold, here came the breakouts. I mean, it’s not really even warm yet! We have been in the 60 degree range, sometimes higher or lower. But all my acne woes have already started.

So I was in the shower about a week ago and I got an idea. (That’s where I get all my best ideas – when I’m bathing.) I thought about the bottle of Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash that was sitting in my medicine cabinet and thought if it was just a little stronger, then it might work better.

So here is what I did. I took that bottle, which was about half empty, and I added some Retin-A to it. Then I shook it up until it was foamy. It dissolved into the liquid amazingly well. Then I sprayed it everywhere I had break outs. And guess what? It started working!

The problem with Retin-A has always been the application. It’s difficult and time consuming to apply it on a regular basis. I couldn’t get it evenly spread on my back and it was inconvenient to ask my husband to do it every night. (We have two boys and we have to tag team it for our bedtime routine. And having to wait for him to come in and help me every night took too much patience for me. It was just ONE more thing!)

I have been using the spray every night for about 10 days now and almost all my breakouts are gone. I have played around with the amount of Retin-A in the bottle. I increased the amount just last night because I thought I should be completely cleared by now. My chest is being my most stubborn area.

Now, the next thing you are probably wondering is, “What about sun exposure?”

Well, right now I am trying out different sunscreens to see what will be the best for daily use. I have a body lotion that I usually use on my arms that has SFP 15(Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion With Sunscreen) and another one I use when I’m planning to be outside for any period of time (Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock). The description reads that you can use this product on your body, but it is aimed more for facial use. I put it on the other areas I mentioned because I really like it. But if I use a regular sunscreen on my chest and neck, then it causes more breakouts. (My skin gets extremely oily during warm weather and any type of lotion exacerbates it.) Even this product aggravates it to a certain degree.

When I come up with a good choice I will update this post. For now it trial and error.

So that’s it. If anyone tries this, please let me know how it goes for you.

Note: I think a regular spray bottle with Retin-A would probably work just fine for this, but it might not spray upside down like the bottle I have. For this reason I plan to continue using the bottle I have, even when the Neutrogena product is used up.

Stay Beautiful – Inside and Out!

If your experience has been different (or even the same), please leave feedback.

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